Balancing growth and sustainability: The role of women's empowerment, innovation, and green transitions

Climate change and environmental degradation remain urgent global challenges driven by rapid economic growth, fossil fuel dependence, and unsustainable consumption. While prior studies have explored the roles of technology, energy, and growth, limited research examines how women's empowerment shapes the economy–energy–technology–environment nexus. This study investigates the joint impact of economic development, technological innovation, renewable energy, and women's empowerment on environmental sustainability using data from 189 countries spanning 1990–2022. The Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model is employed to assess both short- and long-run dynamics, with robustness verified through Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS), Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS), and Canonical Cointegration Regression (CCR). Results show that economic growth intensifies greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, while technological innovation, renewable energy use, and women's empowerment significantly reduce emissions across time horizons. These findings underscore the need to integrate gender equity with technological and energy transitions to decouple economic progress from ecological degradation. Policy recommendations include expanding renewable energy, incentivizing green technologies, and strengthening women's participation in economic and political decision-making. By positioning gender empowerment as a structural driver of sustainability, this study advances an inclusive framework for achieving a resilient, low-carbon global future.